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Step By Step Guide to Get an Adobe Photoshop Free Download

Posted by Steve on Mar 8th, 2012 in Download Photoshop Free, Photo Editing, Photoshop Guides | 4 comments

If you intend to download Photoshop free then you might be interested in finding out how and where you can get this wonderful application. Well, there are many ways of obtaining a free Photoshop download, depending on your current needs.

Although some ways of downloading Photoshop for free are considered illegal or an infringement of the copyrights of the maker, some are generally accepted. If you are searching for a free Photoshop download, then perhaps the following procedure will help you get an Adobe Photoshop free download without paying a single dime.

First, you need to choose the manner or way of accessing the file. There are at least 2 ways you can get the application. One of the simple ways is to access the file from a file sharing website like fileshare.com. Alternatively, you can also get an Adobe Photoshop free download of the trial version from Adobe themselves, or other review sites such as cnet.com which offer trial versions for download.

Once you identify a good site to download Photoshop free, you need to follow the download links. Sometimes this link may be in the website but sometimes you will be directed to the website that offers the file for free. However, you must check to ensure that the link is not broken so that you don’t waste time downloading from that site.

If you are convinced that the link is good to go to get a Photoshop free download, then you should initiate the download. To speed up the download, you should have a good downloads manager application like uTorrent or IDM which can shorten the time that you take to complete the download. If you don’t have this application, then you can get it for free from a number of sites online. A simple Google search will give you all the information you need.

A word of warning – before you get your free download of Adobe Photoshop, you should ensure that you have enough space and a good internet connection to initiate the download. If your speed averages 128kbps, then you will have little difficulty in downloading the application with ease. Also, ensure that your internet connection is relatively stable so that you won’t have to pause and resume the downloading frequently until completion.

After you have completed downloading the file, you should select a place to save it. This should be ideally a folder in the hard disk where you can easily access the application if need be. Alternatively, the computer may just save it by default. So if you have no problem with where the file is stored, then you can proceed with the next step in this process.

Next, you should install and run the free Photoshop download that you got in your computer. This will take a couple of minutes. If you are using a 30-day trial version then you will need to use the activation key after the evaluation period which sometimes comes with the application depending on the website you have downloaded it from. Using the premium version will require you to have a paid and valid licence.

Finally, launch the application from the shortcut icon in your desktop. You can then check out the features of the application and if you want to proceed with getting the basics mastered, you should click on the help tab and follow the instructions and tutorials from there on how to use the Adobe Photoshop. Now, you can see why it’s not so difficult to download Photoshop free as you might think – the procedure is as simple as that.

Interesting Tricks With Photoshop Needlework

Posted by Steve on Apr 15th, 2012 in Photo Editing, Photoshop Tools | 0 comments

One really neat trick a Photoshop artist can do with images is by replicating the appearance and feel of needlework art so he/she can achieve a true Photoshop needlework masterpiece.  The Photoshop artist may or may not have firsthand knowledge about how to exactly do needlework with his/her own bare hands; because believe me, needlework may be stereotypically reserved for our grandmothers, but it is a beautiful form of artwork and requires skill, dexterity, imagination, and an excellent grasp of patterns, sizes, and proportions.  Capturing this art form in all its different varieties through Photoshop needlework in the best way possible will require the Photoshop artist to be knowledgeable about particular details and techniques used in needlework that produce certain beautiful patterns and figures.

The art of needlework involves the use of needles and thread and yarn, or other such materials that can be used for threading and stitching.  It appears in various forms that are distinctive for making use of certain materials, approaches, and techniques:

• Cross-stitch.  The art of forming a series cross stitches of different colored threads upon a special cloth to form a picture.
• Knitting.  The turning of thread and/or yarn into clothing through the process of pulling layers of loops into each other with the use of two knitting needles.
• Embroidery.  This is the art sewing thread and/or yarn on other clothing materials in intricate and ornamental styles and patterns.
• Sewing.  The attaching of pieces of cloths and fabric together through needles and thread in certain directions and stitch patterns to form a dress or clothing of some sort.
• Needle lace.  The stitching up together of hundreds of other stitches in certain patterns to form the lace itself.
• Quilting.  Two or more sewn materials are joined together to form a thicker padding of cloth.
• Applique.  A smaller ornament or object (sequins or lace), is sewn to the surface of a layer of cloth, very useful for creating pictures and even for creatively covering up holes.
• Crochet.  The use of a crochet hook to create a fabric of yarn, thread, and other such materials through pulling loops into other loops.
• Tatting.  The constructing of durable lace through the formation of knots, loops, rings, and chains stemming from a core thread, used often in lacing collars and doilies.
• Lucet.  A device that is used in making braids and cords formed by a series of loops.
• Braiding.  The art of intertwining three or more strands of thread, yarn, hair, and other soft materials together to form a complex yet firm and structured pattern; one often sees this in cables and ropes.
• Tassel making.  Tassels are ornaments that are made up of dozens of loose threads grouped together that hang down curtains, throw pillows, and other such decorative clothing.
• Tapestry.  The complex and intricate art of weaving and/or looming a series of thread together to form murals and pictures.

In tricking up your images with Photoshop needlework, you can bring a sense of homeliness, realism, and nostalgia to the presentation of the pictures.  The effects that you could achieve are:

• Stitching together groups of pictures to create a stitched up collage.
• Giving your picture a tapestry-like effect, with bits and pieces of threads running through the image.
• The formation of lacy needlework patterns that show off the intricate details of loops and knots overlapping to create a background or foreground effect.
• Exploring the geometrical angles and patterns of stitches, knots, loops, and braids interloping upon and within each other, creating the most interesting of threaded networks.
• Replicating the effect of a woven piece of material with its unique, symmetrical patterns.
• Doing a close up on the ornamental tassel, outlining the many strands of threads that hang down a piece of decorative clothing.
• Tricking up an image to look like a cross-stitch pattern, complete with the detailed crossed threads set together to form the image.
• Detailing the artwork of sequins and lace on a dress.
• Showing off the intricate details of a braided rope, hair, thread, or any piece of clothing.

Making use of Photoshop needlework is one very creative way of adding spice and warmth to the tone of your pictures.  Old people, particularly, may find this type of image treatment very appealing.  What is probably funny about the whole thing is that the Photoshop artist won’t necessarily be skilled in doing needlework, but at least he/she will let Photoshop do the work for him/her.

Going Trendy With Photoshop Fashion Brushes

Posted by Steve on Apr 14th, 2012 in Photo Editing, Photoshop Tools | 0 comments

The fashion industry deals heavily with images and with influencing through imagery; as such, it is the perfect medium for utilizing a great number of Photoshop fashion brushes that help to produce certain effects that will imprint itself in a certain way in the minds of people viewing them.  Fashion involves a lot of:

• Picture taking/shooting.  Countless pictures need to be taken so that the photographer and the designer have many options to choose from and use.
• Editing.  Alas, not even models are exempted from the usual, humanly undesirable facial and bodily plagues (pimples, acnes, freckles, etc.) that afflict us normal-looking mortals, and so need to be done away with.
• Posing.  There are a great many poses and stances a body can make, be it a regular or common kind of gesture or bold, dramatic, and exaggerated stances.
• Customizing.  A kind of pose, style, and/or effect has to be executed in such a way as to meet the demands of sponsors, meet the particular tastes of designers, and appeal to the masses or the consumers.
• Accessorizing.  The highlighting of particular enhancements, like jewelry, bags, shoes, pins, brooches, etc.
• Make-up.  Facial features and expressions are enhanced by special cosmetics and techniques used by the make-up artist.
• Styling.  A specific kind of putting together of certain fabrics and materials and pairing them with appropriate make-up, hairstyle, and/or accessories.
• Captivating color combinations.  The expert use of color and print is very powerful and effective in determining how well a certain trend will be received and appreciated.
• Expressions.  The human face is very much capable of expressing so much by just the tweak or pinch of the nose, the wink of an eye, the flash of the eyelids, the curve of the mouth, the raising of the cheeks, the pucker of the lips, etc.

There are many effects that one can produce through Photoshop fashion brushes:

• Classic black-and-white or grayscale.  Capture a pose and expression in its most elegant and striking element.
• Sepia.  Add a nostalgic touch to the model’s pose and dress style.
• Vintage.  Even contemporary styles may be given a touch of charming and endearing antiquity.
• Grunge.  This dark and deeply contrasting effect is very suitable for Gothic styles and dark fantasy, Halloween-like themes.
• Glitter effect.  Perfect for clothes that set the mood in parties and flashy clothes that loudly and unashamedly call for a lot of attention.
• Color enhancements.  One need not necessarily always go for effects; if one just simply wants to use the photograph as it is, one can just improve the tone of the image by making the colors come out more alive.

By the use of Photoshop fashion brushes one can present an image in the best light possible.  The different avenues by which this application is most useful are in:

• Advertisements.  A lot of products call for models with certain images to sell them in a most effective manner.
• Fashion magazines.  A most important part of the fashion industry that lets the public browse and pick up on the latest trends.
• Entertainment magazines.  It isn’t just enough for actors to act and singers to sing; they, too, have an avenue of selling a certain style or product, or endorsing a particular style.
• Lifestyle magazines.  Health and lifestyle matters somehow also coincide with what fashion and culture dictates in the daily lives of people.
• Portraits.  When a single expression set in a certain pose and adorned in a certain kind of style is masterfully captured, it produces a powerful and impressive influence on any person who views it.
• Model portfolios.  Models also want to collect their images in different settings and effects as this helps greatly in building up their resumes and in getting excellent modeling jobs.
• Themes.  Weddings, Rock N’ Roll, country, suburban, Gothic, fantasy, floral, wildlife, etc.
• Launching of new and/or seasonal trends.  Designers live to see images of their spring, summer, autumn, and winter collections come out and be presented in the grandest way possible.
• Stage productions or reproductions.  Replicating the look of the greatest movie stars and singers and other infamous public figures.
• Periodical fashion statements.  Each and every era that this world has ever gone through and is going through contains its distinctive fashion sense that is fun to replicate.

As one gets the hang of Photoshop fashion brushes, one will be able to create excellent images that will translate into the minds of people as something worth looking at, worth observing, worth appreciating, and worth thinking over, and even worth imitating.

Expressions Through Photoshop Lettering Effects

Posted by Steve on Apr 10th, 2012 in Photo Editing, Photoshop Tools | 0 comments

When you look at a certain kind of font, you cannot help but create a certain impression; and when that style of font is even more enhanced by Photoshop lettering effects, the word being spelled out by that particular font is made even more expressive and more graphic without even having to accompany any kind of picture.  Photoshop lettering effects are useful for enhancing the printed word or words, making them become an image in itself; the style in which the word is typed and the word spelled out combine to subtly yet effectively convey a certain message; the word in itself is strong enough an image to create a picture through our imaginations fueled by the way we understand that word.

The way you type a word or a group of words sends a message to the brains of people who read them just how important or not so important the word or words are.  With Photoshop lettering effects, one can incorporate a lot of effects and enhancements to carry a certain message across:

• Small case letters.  At first glance, this style looks simple and insignificant enough; but if applied to a very key word, it could still express so much and impress a lot.
• Capital and small case letters.  In grammatical rules, this style is best used for proper names of persons, places, and notable works; when applied with certain enhancements, one would certainly see even more so what makes that person, place, or notable work so significant.
• All capitals.  This style calls for MUCH attention.
• Bold font.  This style REALLY calls for MUCH attention.
• Italicized.  This style calls for ATTENTION in a certain way.
• Underlined.  If this style doesn’t call out for your attention as well as other styles, then I don’t know what else will.
• Punctuation marks.  The proper use of these very important marks can help greatly in spelling the difference between life and death, question and answer, a whisper and a shout, laughter and crying, sarcasm and sincerity, and all of those other incredibly complex expressions that only humans are capable of.
• Colored fonts.  When a certain word is paired with a certain color (envy, love, peace, etc.), the associations and the meanings come across pretty loud and clear.
• Childlike handwriting.  Nothing else speaks of so much charm and innocence as when we see those wobbly letters on page or on screen.
• Periodical font.  The style of writing in those long ago ages when quills and inks were the standard medium of writing and pages had no lines carry an irresistible charm and grace that is both beautiful and elegant.
• Different languages.  Chinese, Japanese, Nordic, Arabic, English, etc., each and every ethnic form of language carries its own unique blend of complexities and nuances that makes their grammar and writing styles all the more intricate and interesting.

The avenues by which this application is used are varied and abundant:

• Advertisements.  Selling products and ideas needs special words in special styles for the public to relate to and catch on.
• Logos and statements.  A certain fashion brand, a certain campus font, a certain company title with the accompanying trademark logo – all these are very telling of the credibility and excellence of the services and products produced and found in these institutions.
• Inspirational and motivational purposes.  Words have the power to bring down or to build up; when used to build up, the wonders they do are often unexpectedly unimaginable.
• Artistic expressions.  Be it for art’s sake, poetry, or lyrical and musical purposes, the skillful combinations of words and rhyme undeniably stirs up one’s heart and imagination to great lengths and depths.
• Personal expressions of affection.  “I love you,” “Thank you,” “I’m sorry, please forgive me,” “You are important to me,” “I’m so glad you’re my friend,” etc. – so few words, yet so much meaning and … well, … just so much. …
• School and/or business projects.  Very useful for bringing more life to reports on various subjects.
• Special themes, occasions and seasons.  Weddings, anniversaries, Christmases, Easters, summer vacations, rite of passage, funerals, summer, autumn, winter, spring, etc.

For whatever purpose Photoshop lettering effects are used, the Photoshop artist must always make sure that the style is appropriate and compatible to the word or words being spelled out and to the theme or occasion being talked about, so that the message of that particular theme or occasion is captured in its very essence and is effectively and appropriately expressed in the clearest and most honest way possible.

Photoshop Symbols And What You Can Do With Them

Posted by Steve on Mar 29th, 2012 in Photoshop Tools | 0 comments

The use of Photoshop symbols is a most necessary and indispensable function by which Photoshop artists communicate a certain message in the most efficient, dramatic or emphatic, and impressionable way possible.  Symbols permeate and affect every part of life; when used in artwork, especially in Photoshop, they take on a life and force that inspires and propels one who understands what that certain symbol means to feel something deep and profound for what that symbol stands for and to take a definite kind of action.

Photoshop symbols can take on any symbol of any shape and form and be used to represent so many concepts, ideals, and occasions:

• Peace.  This usually takes the forms of branches, palm leaves, doves, or white flags.
• War.  Guns, knives, swords, fists, cannons, tanks, warships, warplanes, … you get the picture.
• Environment.  Mountains, bodies of water, landscapes, nature, cities, etc. can signify a certain picture of strength, power, unity, harmony, and progress.
• The seasons and weather.  The color and elements of a season, the clouds with or without rain or sun that you see in your screen when turned on to the weather channel has been known to somehow affect one’s mood.
• Colors.  Colors are a most effective and powerful medium of communicating meanings and signals.
• Flags.  They speak so much of the identity of a race, a people, a country, a team, and an institution.
• Traffic signs.  Where would mankind be without these helpful symbols to guide them in that great and fascinating universal maze we call traffic?
• Websites and Internet.  The worldwide web would be amiss without that ever dependable @.
• Fonts.  The style of a font tells you a lot about the person’s personality and the institution that uses it, what they are about, what they produce, and what they stand for.
• Punctuation marks.  As funny and absurd as it sounds, the placing of any punctuation mark in grammar can mean either life or death in communication.
• Languages.  The characters of any language are integral to the identity of a group of people and the way they uniquely communicate with each other.
• Currency.  The moment you see that dollar sign, you know it’s supposed to mean something you want and need to have.
• Entertainment.  Movie reels, cameras and films, the director’s chair, singing and/or dancing people, microphones, masks, theatre booths, stages, red carpets – it’s showbiz, baby!
• Music.  Even just the mere sight of notes, rests, G-clefs, F-clefs, sharps, flats, singers and instrumentalists with their instruments just have a way of creating sounds inside one’s mind even without the literal hearing of any piece of music.
• Fashion.  The style of a shoe, dress, or other accessory with the accompanying font immediately tells one the quality, beauty, and prestige of possessing such a product.
• Parties and celebrations.  Who doesn’t love balloons, confetti, and clowns?  Don’t forget the wineglasses and wine.
• Card decks.  The kings, queens, jacks, hearts, ace of spades, numbers, diamonds, and hearts hold so much influence in games and in the worth of taking risks.
• Expressions.  Smiley faces have revolutionized and simplified the way we express our feelings toward each other when we communicate with each other through non-personal devices.
• People.  No other symbol stands for such complexity of feeling, movement, and influence as the human shape in different poses and actions.
• Love.  Perhaps the highest and most desired ideal, it is best seen and understood by pictures of hearts, cupids, holding hands, rings, two doves, homes.

Every kind of institution that has ever been set and established on earth and ever known to man makes use of symbols.  And in this day and age of global connections made increasingly accessible through the Internet, Photoshop symbols are powerful tools and applications that continue to create countless bridges and links of connections to ideas, philosophies, communications, exchanges, information, education, and inspiration.  The list above does not even begin to cover half of all the symbols that represent a certain concept, ideal, or institution.  We aren’t always aware of it, but a symbol creates a lasting impression upon our minds and influences much of the way we think, feel, and act.  With Photoshop symbols one will make use of the usual clicking here and there to enhance a certain sign; the way he/she goes about it and presents it will most certainly affect and influence another person, whether it was deliberately meant to do so or not.

The Many Uses of Photoshop Editing

Posted by Steve on Mar 25th, 2012 in Photo Editing, Photoshop Guides, Photoshop Tools, Photoshop Tutorials | 0 comments

The purpose of Photoshop editing is for the photographer/Photoshop artist to input the final touches needed to construct the picture or image into how he wants it to come across.  He/She will consider the lighting, the contrast of colors, the shading, the emphasizing or de-emphasizing of certain minute details, and a host of other little things that must be taken into account in order to make the picture the best it can be.

Photoshop editing is full of incredibly great options that you can choose from to produce a certain type of effect that will provoke a certain type of feeling, thought, idea, and emotion.

• The classic black and white is a time-tested photographic effect that has always maintained great appeal and beauty.
• The sepia effect, which is a contrasting of shades in brown and white, is also a very elegant type of effect, which lends a lovely, old-paper feel to the image.
• The graying effect makes for a melancholic and mysterious atmosphere in the overall look of the image.
• Turning an old grey photo into a colorful one while still maintaining its vintage look gives the picture a charming touch.
• Turning a photograph into a sketch bestows an almost natural touch to an image, almost as good as that of a professional artist.
• Light contrasting and angling helps to highlight either the light shining through the picture or the subject/object the light shines upon.
• Painting effects are also abundant in different styles and touches, as is reflective of the different styles there are in real painting.
• Retouching in Photoshop can do many wonders for a girl’s make up.
• Diffusing the background into a starry, blurry kind of effect helps add a celebrity-like highlight to the primary subject in the picture.
• Selective coloring in a picture adds great spice and dynamic to a picture, be it in black and white, sepia, or gray.
• Restoration of pictures that are almost near to ruin is a very invaluable tool that can help preserve the pictures nearest and dearest to your heart.
• Motion blurs help create an illusion of speed, time stopping or warping, however you want time to look and be.
• Changing up one’s skin tone, hair and eye color, trimming up the nose, reducing the roundness of the cheeks, … you know, the usual vanity tricks.
• 3-D effects and illusion are great for making images pop out from the picture.
• Silhouettes are suitable for pictures that want to cast out a retro effect.
• Dramatic shadow manipulations can tell a great story and make an interesting impression.
• Colors can be contrasted to different degrees to make their hue and tint dramatically jump out from the picture.
• Time travel is possible, even through Photoshop, by just adding a certain type of tint to the image that is reminiscent of antique types of photographs.
• Blurring the primary image itself produces a mysterious, ghost-like apparition.
• Animate your pictures with different styles of illustrations effects such as colored pencils, comic book style effects, vector looks, etc.
• Infrared effects emanate an x-ray-like feel to the image that closely resembles the film from which pictures of decades ago needed to be developed from.
• Fixing your pictures into a collage is a great way to show off your sentiments as well as help you preserve those wonderful memories from way back when.
• Blending two different pictures together adds a bit of drama and reference point for comparison of two subjects.

Whatever options you choose in Photoshop editing, you must first and foremost have a clear idea of what kind of effect you want to see from certain pictures.  That done, you may go about selecting the tools, tricks, instructions, and techniques you need to use to produce that effect.  Keep in mind though that no matter how great or cool a particular kind of effect is, it may not always be the most appropriate one for certain kinds of pictures; overdoing one type of effect can make a picture look tacky and unimpressive.  This is the reason why there are so many Photoshop editing tutorials that can cater to so many different kinds of tastes and treatments – to help users produce effects that are suitable and complementary to the image/s being edited.   Never lose sight of your goal – to produce a picture that inspires and creates a positive and lasting impression on others.

Photoshop Weddings – Enhancing Wedding Pictures

Posted by Steve on Mar 24th, 2012 in Photo Editing, Photoshop Guides, Photoshop Tutorials | 0 comments

Photoshop weddings – or rather, wedding pictures that are being subjected to the surgical, enhancing tools of Photoshop – are perhaps one of the most popular uses for Photoshop.  What better occasion for a Photoshop artist’s creative juices to work and blend out than in enhancing and tricking up pictures from weddings?  Weddings are perfect events for photographers to capture raw joyful, even comic expressions filled with romance and tender familial bonds.

Photoshop artists enhance and trick up pictures in Photoshop weddings is by using the objects and/or subjects associated with weddings to build a certain effect on, which may or may not include the pictures of the happy couple.  The pictures of wedding objects and subjects would include:

• The Bible with the rings.
• The rings with an object of sentimental value to the couple or any object related to the wedding.
• The pillows for the coins and the rings.
• The bride’s veil and wedding dress.
• The bouquet and/or the flower arrangements.
• The ceremonial tokens (veil, cord, candles, and communion elements).
• The aisle and the altar.
• The bride and the groom, posing in a certain way, or just a close-up view of their hands with the rings.
• Solo shots of the bride.
• Solo shots of the groom.
• The bride with only her female friends and/or female entourage.
• The groom with only his male friends and/or male entourage.
• Either or both of the couple with their families and/or friends.
• The entourage, principal sponsors, and secondary sponsors.
• Flower girls and bearers.
• The wine and the wine glasses.
• The wedding cake and/or the wedding figurines.
• The wedding invitations, ceremony and reception programs.
• Landscape shots that contain the whole venue (church, garden, or beach).
• Romantic shots of the couple by the staircase, balcony, love seat, hallway, gazebo, trees, highway, and every other romantic spot conceivable to the human imagination.
• Even animals, where the male and female of the same specie wear wedding rings or garments.

The types of effects one can incorporate in Photoshop weddings are:

• Vignette effects – lightens or darkens the edges of the picture, which effectively draws the viewer into the picture without knowing why.
• Wineglass effects – the picture of the couple is placed inside a wineglass or is blurred by the wineglass’ reflecting effects.
• Bubbles – just to add a somewhat cute and charming touch to the couple’s romance.
• Lighting effects – whichever way the Photoshop artist uses this effect, it would be to shift and focus onto a certain perspective in the picture.
• Movie poster effects – to bring a bit of movie-like drama.
• Retouch effects – which help to improve the color and tone of the picture through masking, overlaying, and diffusion.
• Coloring effects – good for bringing out the best hues and tints in colors to make them more alive and jump out from the picture.
• Modes and blends – the use of black and white/grayscale and sepia modes or to make a particular color jump out against a black and white/grayscale backdrop.
• Layouts for wedding invitations, letterings, and programs.
• Background effects – where the picture itself is used as the backdrop.
• Frameworks – pick out any style of frames to outline the couple’s picture.
• Soft focus effects – which softens the tone and look of the picture to achieve a warm and pleasant effect.

Photoshop weddings serve as priceless visual mementos of the couple’s most wonderful and most important day.  As such, couples have the choice of giving the Photoshop artist complete freedom in doing what he/she will with their wedding pictures; should they choose to do this, they have to have complete trust in the Photoshop artist and not be too frustrated or frazzled if the effects do not always meet their expectations.  But to really achieve great and suitable effects for the wedding pictures, both the couple and the Photoshop artist must reach an agreement as to what suits the tastes and preferences of the couple; couple must be willing to take the time to explain what it is they like best to see in their pictures, and Photoshop artist must be willing to cater to the demands of couple – if permitted, he/she can go beyond what the couple is asking for (just so his/her creativity isn’t stifled) yet still create and edit within the bounds and parameters set by the couple.

Photoshop Basics Overview

Posted by Steve on Mar 24th, 2012 in Photoshop Guides, Photoshop Tutorials | 0 comments

For those who are not technologically savvy or inclined, it almost seems a drag to have to make use of a software as intimidating and complicated as Photoshop. It would be all too easy to justify why one should not have to use Photoshop, least of all need Photoshop: not wanting to go through all the trouble of fixing up pictures, the way the picture looks is already good as it is in its natural state, there are way too many steps and instructions to follow it could overwhelm me, etc. The all-too familiar built-in defense mechanism kicks in when one has to face something one is not interested in facing. But perhaps, for the un-inclined to anything technological, a friendly encouragement is issued to you: it’s not so bad to try something new, even if that new thing involves something you are not particularly interested in. Besides, one has to just open up one’s mind (even a little bit at a time) to see the nice things about Photoshop: the fun of spicing up an image, transforming the settings of the picture to make it look like something completely different, enhancing the beauty of a certain image, time-traveling effects, making beautiful posters, … just making something beautiful and worthwhile.

It would be safe to classify you as a beginner; and so, as such, as you take a baby step and begin to take an adventure through Photoshop, please know that you don’t need to make your first Photoshop project something way-over-the-top or incredibly glamorous or fantastically perfect. Remember, baby steps. Make it simple yet interesting, focusing on one idea for the meantime and building up on that by adding only what is necessary to help reinforce that idea. But then again, if you’re the ambitious kind of a beginner, then by all means, go wild and click away at this and that; trial and error may be more your style, which can be a good way of helping you learn a lot of what to do and what not to do.

When you open up Photoshop you have what is called your “workspace,” which is that whole area of the screen on which you get to create your masterpiece/s. Within the workspace you will see the menu bar (which gives you options for different tools to use), the options bar (contains particular tools to be used for particular options as well as a workspace menu for saving, loading and arranging palettes), and the toolbox (shortcuts for Photoshop tools). These three contain the tools and colors needed for you to work your magic. Palettes are individual panes that contain information and options to help you in working with your file. You have all the freedom to customize your workspace suited to your preferences and working style – how you want your menu bar to look, where you want which tool bar to be placed, what type of information you want to be displayed in your palettes and how you want them to be arranged, etc. Don’t forget to save your preferred settings by going to the menu bar, which provides an option for saving your workspace.

You will also encounter the following formats that contain up to 256 colors that you can choose from to help enhance the shades of your picture. Each format provides support for particular kinds of images. GIF (“jiff” or “giff”) is best for transparency and animation as well as graphics that make use of large areas of the same color. JPEG (“jay-peg”) supports photographic images. PNG (“ping”), like GIF, supports transparency but is perhaps better in the sense that it can render greater support for transparency of colored areas in a picture. With these formats you can manipulate the coloring of your picture by adding or reducing on the darkness/lightness of the color (depending on how you prefer to adjust it), discerning the degree of transparency that will suit any color, the blending of images through the use of matte colors.

Layering is a tool that allows you to work on the image one area at a time; and you won’t be able to disturb or affect any other part of the image until the one you’re working on has been tweaked and cured up to your liking. The many other tools are at hand for you to select and isolate, move, crop or cut, draw, paint, brush, outline, shape, blend, zoom in or out, write, erase and edit.

Some Wonderful Advantages of Photoshop

Posted by Steve on Mar 19th, 2012 in Photo Editing, Photoshop CS3, Photoshop CS4, Photoshop CS5, Photoshop Guides | 0 comments

Photoshop has truly changed the way images and/or pictures are treated, ultimately affecting even the way we perceive ourselves in reality and the way we want others to perceive us.  It’s not just our images that have been drastically affected by the advantages of Photoshop; even our projects, be it for school or for work or for personal use, have become more and more enhanced because of the very many possibilities so readily available in Photoshop.  The advantages of Photoshop have made it unspeakably indispensable to so many people of all walks of life, all ages and all professions.

Exactly what are some of these wonderful advantages of Photoshop that makes it so incredibly appealing and necessary?

• Obviously, it helps hide the truth about one’s physical flaws.
• Human expressions are furthered and highlighted even more with Photoshop.

Personally, I do not feel that the first advantage is a right way to use Photoshop, because it tends to make people be dishonest about themselves and deceive others by magically trimming down those hard to shed pounds, effortlessly erasing all those dreadful wrinkles and pimples, suspiciously making those ugly freckles and that annoying mole disappear. Still, Photoshop has done great wonders in restoring pictures that are in great need of repair.  A few bits of treatment here and there that takes away the crease and line and fading grey, … and then the smile comes across to you clearer and brighter than ever before.  Or the seriousness and nobleness of a certain serious expression is felt even more and speaks out from the picture louder and clearer.  Whether it’s smiling, laughing, frowning, crying, stolen shot or posed, the expression is made to feel like it’s literally jumping out of the picture and reaching out to your heart.

• Images can be enhanced with all kinds of special effects that cater to all kinds of tastes, preferences, and themes, both for amateur and professional photography.

Fireworks effects for celebrations, hearts and cupids for sweethearts and married couples, bells and doves for weddings, balloons and/or disco lights for partying, radiant light effects for fantasy-type images, 3D illusions, sketch-like and watercolor-like enhancements of personal and/or group portraits, animation, speed effects, fairy-like enhancements, time warps and traveling, … pretty much every kind of occasion and theme is already well-covered by Photoshop. More and more professional photographers are making use of Photoshop not to delete or exaggerate certain details from the picture/s they have taken, but, rather, to enhance certain details and portions of the image to put a certain perspective or focus on that particular detail.

•  It is commercially beneficial for all kinds of businesses.

From corporate to administrative to entertainment to arts to clothing to jewelry to fashion to publications to religious institutions to schools to medicine to advertisement to news media to food companies – every type of profession and industry you can think of Photoshop is there to enhance and improve their identity logos, symbols, posters, and business or school presentations.

• Photoshop is also a great medium for poking fun at other people and at yourself.

If you have ever gone to that part of the fair or the circus where there is a maze of mirrors that produce different kinds of reflections of yourself – some too thin, others too fat, one gives you a big head, the other gives you terribly oversized feet.  That’s what Photoshop can also do for you and for your friends – give you a great laugh.  Only take care that Photoshop effects will not be used maliciously if you do intend to use it for joking around.  Having fun at the expense of another person’s dignity is never okay.

• Artistic expressions.  One can make art with Photoshop just for the sake of personal expression.

This is probably the most all-encompassing reason for why Photoshop has become so prolific.

The many advantages of Photoshop are undeniable and have become a very much necessary part of our lives and our professions.  You better believe it – Photoshop is here to stay!  Just always remember, Photoshop is best used not to deceive people into thinking that a certain image is not what it really appears to be.  Rather, it should serve to bring out and reinforce what is true, essential, important, and uniquely beautiful in the image you are working on so that it speaks out honestly and sincerely to whoever should look upon it and affect them in a positively inspiring way.

Photoshop Mishaps – Bloopers and Disasters

Posted by Steve on Mar 16th, 2012 in Photo Editing, Photoshop Guides | 0 comments

Photoshop mishaps are, believe it or not, more common than one would care to think or believe.  You would think that with Photoshop, each and every treated and tricked-up image would be perfectly enhanced and perfectly presented and perfectly treated; but the thing is, the person using Photoshop is just as human as you and I and is prone to overlook or miss out really important steps and details that need to be attended to.  The tools, instructions, and systems provided in Photoshop are well developed, but even Photoshop artists make mistakes, once in a while.  A lot of them may not have been aware of it at the time, but a miscalculation of the angling of a certain detail in the picture, or the accidental placing in of an object that has absolutely no business being in the picture greatly affects the whole outcome of the picture.  It is disastrous.  But on the other side of the coin, it is also often very hilarious.

The following are just some examples of Photoshop mishaps that have caught the attention of people and Photoshop professionals in a not so conventionally inspiring way:

• The cat’s tongue that was not in proportion to his mouth, almost resembling a tiny leaf that got stuck on the cat’s mouth.
• The gun that was not actually being held by the gunman’s hand.  The hand actually acted more like a backdrop to the gun.
• The unusual enlargement of a certain body part that doesn’t make it look proportioned with the rest of the body just makes for really awkward images.
• The missing limb.  I’m sure it’s just there somewhere; perhaps the subject hid it really well behind his/her back or something.
• Another awkward moment is where limbs appear in certain places where they really shouldn’t be.
• While we’re on the subject on limbs, there are also those terrible surgical advertisements where an extra finger or two seems to be weirdly popping out from the other side of the hand.
• Movie and/or TV posters gone bad.  Whether it’s the uncomfortable positioning together of the characters, or the not so well-handling of props, it is sure to raise a lot of “Huh?”
• Unfortunately, even politicians are not far from abusing Photoshop treatments to make them appear where they really weren’t or to make them look like something that is far from what they really are.
• On an even sadder note, even natural disasters are used as something to place people in when they really were never in the middle of such horrific happenings.
• Wrong way traffic.  Why are there some cars going counter-flow on an exclusively one-way lane?  Pretty hard to spot, though, when there are a lot of other cars in the lane.
• One rather not-so-appropriate mishap is where a woman’s cleavage is showing way, way, way too much.
• The twin effect is where you see two people with exactly the same features, expressions, and clothes in the same picture.
• The half-body effect.  If you want to create the illusion of a subject coming out from somewhere, remember that the rest of the body must still emerge from the inside of whatever opening you want the subject to come out of.

Disastrous, uncomfortable, and hilarious as they are, Photoshop mishaps need not be all that negative and unattractive.  Sometimes an occasional slip in detail contributes to the realism of the expression or outcome of the picture.  In other cases, they are a great source of entertainment and fun at the expense of the Photoshop artist who made the blunder.  Fortunately, with much grace and with great sense of humor, the Photoshop artist can simply learn from his/her mistake and not do the same thing on his/her next projects.  But do be aware that a lot of these mishaps are also deliberate in the sense that the users thought they could deceive people into perceiving the image as something that it really isn’t, hence, making them believe in something that isn’t really true at all.  Many public figures and businesses have been affected really badly because they thought they could deceive and cover up undesired details.

Photoshop mishaps can be greatly reduced and avoided with much practice and experience; after all, you would always want to produce the best out of each and every image you treat with Photoshop.  The best images that make the best impact and influence in the most positive way are those that are honestly made and excellently treated.

The Photoshop Universe – Taking You Where Few Have Ever Gone

Posted by Steve on Mar 16th, 2012 in Photo Editing, Photoshop Guides, Photoshop Tools | 0 comments

When it comes to cosmic events and landscapes of galactic proportions, the Photoshop universe pretty much let you in on that great and vast open space outside of earth that holds so much mystery, dramatic events, and beauty.  It’s a pretty incredible place, the universe with the innumerable myriads of galaxies, stars and planets.  In the world of Photoshop, with the right tools and with much research and imagination, the Photoshop artist can take himself and his viewers to a place where only astronauts and our favorite flying superheroes have ever been.

Fascinating And Astounding Stuff You Can Do With Photoshop Universe

• The silhouette of the earth as the sun serves as its backdrop outlining the earth’s shape.
• Manipulating and shading the different colors of gases that blow across planets.
• Different constellation formations that form patterns and pictures, with a shooting star or two.
• Eclipses, a most dramatic meeting between the sun and the moon.
• Take a different look on the different faces of the moon.
• Hop around the craters of the moon with astronauts.
• Collisions of meteor rocks against each other and landing on earth or on other planets.
• Follow the steps of galaxies as they dance with each other in a mysterious choreography of infinite design.
• Witness the birth, life, and death of a star.
• Create a time warp effect and travel by light years like your favorite Star Trek or Star Wars heroes.
• Design your own spaceships as they patrol the known and unknown sectors and regions of the universe.
• Along with the spaceships, you could also create your own breed of superheroes that fly and guard the universe from powerful and evil beings.
• Create eerie and terrifying blackholes that seem to threaten to suck the life out of anything that crosses its path.
• Explore the wondrous yet dangerous landscapes of earth-like planets.
• Create a path of meteor rocks and comets as they arch over set their courses for destinations only they know.
• Create floating mountains that soar in place.
• Make a bird’s eye view of the solar system, with the earth and all her neighboring planets.
• Engage in a battle with evil aliens invading the earth and other ally planets.
• Create your own race of galactic beings with their peculiar wardrobe, expressions, customs, culture, and powers.
• Be captivated and terrified as you witness an epic battle between supernatural forces with truly god-like features and powers as they wage war and do battle with each other.
• Express your own take on an alien spaceship landing on earth.
• Make a dream-like image and place yourself out in the vast open outer space and fly to wherever you wish to go.
• Create a collage of all famous characters that have ever graced the outer reaches of the galaxies and group them together in one very interesting and epic picture.
• Grab a portrait and set in on a background of stars and colorful clouds and planets.
• Lightsaber fanatics can go wild as they design their own swords and space weapons.
• On a more endearing side, you can also make a picture of a little boy sleeping in his bed and dreaming of stars, planets, suns, moons, and him inside a rocket ship.

See why Photoshop universe is so very perfect for Photoshop techniques and tricks?  One can just let his imagination just run loose and create images and events that are not bound by human expectations and comprehensions.  Thanks to the images produced with tutorials for making pictures of the universe, even the people viewing them are somehow transported away from the ordinary, comfortable and too-easily understood circumstances to where breath taking and incomprehensible processes, events, and beings challenge all that one knows about the universe and invites one to delve deeper and deeper into the farthest, most infinite corners of the galaxies and solar systems.

Imagination is key to making a great Photoshop universe artwork.  Of course, one must do one’s homework well and learn all about what it is that is contained in the universe and how they work with each other or affect each other.  The heavenly bodies and cosmic events are great and amazing topics by which a Photoshop artist can explore and get blissfully lost in.   Perhaps, the fact that the universe is such a mind-boggling concept is the reason why Photoshop artists, or any other artists for that matter, are so taken with it – even if they capture its image in any art form, one it still completely escapes and defies human explanation.